On February 4, 2022, representatives of several companies from the Republic of Moldova held a workshop dedicated to analyzing various dual education models of other countries and initiating discussions with companies in order to establish the most useful and efficient models to be implemented in our country. A round table on the topic of “Implementation of dual education at TUM. Discussions with company representatives” was organized within the ERASMUS+ project “Integrating Dual Higher Education in Moldova and Ukraine – COOPERA”, reference number: 617490-EPP-1-2020-1-MD-EPPKA2-CBHE-SP.
The meeting was attended by representatives of several well-known companies in Chișinău: Mihai Gorgos, director of Arobs Software; Nicu Roman, director of Mechatronics Innovation Center S.R.L.; Cunup Ruslan, director of STEINEL Electronic S.R.L.; Ţărnă Ruslan, technical director at EFES Vitanta; Tamara Adam, chief of staff at Inther Software Development; Denis Țapotei, head of the “Automation and measurement and control devices” section, S.A. “Bucuria” factory; Danu Vadim, director of Led Market S.R.L.; Coșovschi Pavel, chief engineer at the glass factory in Chișinău.
The project coordinator representing TUM – director of University Center Erasmus+, prof., Dr. Larisa Bugaian, started the meeting with a brief description of the main objectives of the project, namely the integration of dual higher education in partner countries, improvement of work capacity, and increasing compatibility between the requirements of the professional environment and the initial training of university students. To achieve this, it is necessary to identify the specific needs and requirements for dual higher education of enterprises and companies in different industrial sectors. This will lead to the development of a flexible and generic dual higher education model that supports the different needs and interests of employers, higher education institutions and students.
The dean of FCIM, assoc. prof., Dr. Dumitru Ciorba spoke about the importance of the project for both companies and academia and expressed his gratitude to the industry representatives for their support and openness to this promising initiative. The head of the IIS department, FCIM, assoc. prof., Dr. Viorica Sudacevschi, and the head of the ISA department, FCIM, assoc. prof., Dr. Ion Fiodorov spoke about the dual education models in Poland, Spain and Germany. The head of the Continuing Education Department, assoc. prof., Dr. Rodion Ciuperca, the head of the Automatics and Informatics program, assoc. prof., Dr. Irina Cojocari, and the deputy head of the IIS department, FCIM, Silvia Munteanu, were also involved in the discussions.
The company representatives agreed to the initiative of implementing dual education for the undergraduate programs Robotics and Mechatronics and Automatics and Informatics. Most have opted for a mixed study model: 50% of the study process takes place at the University in the form of teaching activities, and 50% at the company, where students can gain practical skills at work. It was also highlighted that dual education brings a number of benefits to both students and companies: it is an excellent opportunity to test the skills necessary for a chosen career, to experience financial independence, and to gain practical knowledge that will prove useful for a future career. Students are selected by the partner companies which will analyze their abilities early on and discover their talents. Other than that, the initiative assures the corporate socialization of the young generation of qualified employees, thus, a higher percentage of students can sign employment contracts before graduation.
More information about COOPERA can be found on http://coopera-project.ase.md/ and https://www.facebook.com/coopera.project.Moldova and on the COOPERA page TUM https://proiecte.utm.md/coopera/
